Stephanie Sylvester
South Bureau Chief
These past few weeks have been a critical and challenging time for BC as students were given the opportunity to potentially meet with BC’s next president. Each president had strong and persuasive campaigns emphasizing different issues important to BC to gain student, teacher and faculty support.
Out of the few candidates, one candidate was distinctive in his strategies, thinking, intelligence, and compassion. BC’s now former Attorney General and VP for Public Policy and Government Affairs, Greg Haile, was voted in unanimously by the Board of Trustees to become BC’s seventh president starting July 2018.
“One of the things that’s most important to me is trust,” said Haile during his campaign meet and greet on May 1, 2018. He explained the importance of having the trust of the student body by listening and thus jumpstarting and improving the resources needed towards ensuring student success. He continued the conversation saying not only do the students at BC depend on BC and BC’s resources, but also the communities right outside of the campuses with high poverty, high unemployment rates and other significant needs seek BC as an opportunity for future success.
Student Kasey Mintz asked Haile a question regarding how BC can increase school spirit related to sports as he noticed the baseball stands were vacant during the games. Haile went into a deep discussion about how there is a certain culture that surrounds athletics that BC needs to promote because student involvement is healthy academically, socially and personally.
“We represent the idea of changing lives. We have to live it,” said BC’s new president as he elaborated on the strategies he has in store for the upcoming years he plans to dedicate to increasing student involvement. Events like Political Pizza where students gather and eat pizza with leading politicians in their communities, field trips like going to Tallahassee to fight to get the Florida Dream Act approved by the government and bridging the gap between faculty and students are all plans of promotion Haile plans to use in his presidency to increase student involvement.
Haile grew up in Jamaica, Queens where back then, college was not a topic of conversation on the streets or in the household. Instead, Haile faced much violence, drugs and crime on the streets he walked and never even heard of college until sixth grade. Despite his tough childhood, he went to college at Arizona State University and later pursued law school.
When asked why he decided to pursue law as a career, Haile responded that he saw it as a tool to help others and that his love for problem solving simply could not be ignored. “There were possibilities that they didn’t see that existed,” said Haile as he continued the discussion on how he went back to his old high school to give back by getting involved in non-for-profit organizations to raise awareness of the importance of getting an education.
As a first-generation college student, Haile has proved to be excellently qualified to lead the BC students who did not get the “college talk” or are confused with what their purpose is in life. During his presidency, he pledges to put student success first and to make sure no student is left behind. An exciting journey lies ahead for all BC students, teachers and faculty welcoming Haile as BC’s president.